EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three Mobile have all been ranked and rated in a new study looking at the best mobile providers in the country. The research, conducted by RootMetrics, is based on over 650,000 tests carried out in the second half of last year, using Samsung 5G handsets bought from relevant stores to test both 4G and 5G network performance. And, once again, it’s EE who has come out trumps, besting rivals O2, Vodafone and Three.
EE was praised as being the “standard bearer” in the UK mobile network arena, boasting average media download speeds of 60.4Mbps, which is over twice as fast as those offered by any other rival service.
The RootMetrics study in total analysed seven specific performance categories for each network, including accessibility and reliability. And in six out of the seven areas analysed, EE was the outright winner – and was a shared winner along with Vodafone in calls performance.
The Q2 2021 study also marked the the ninth consecutive test period where EE ranked first for overall performance, reliability, speed, as well as data, call, and text performance.
Vodafone was the runner up in the study, followed by O2 and then Three Mobile.
Describing the level of service EE offers, the RootMetrics study said: “Delivering consistently fast speeds and great results in general, EE remained the operator to beat in 2H 2021.
“EE earned by far the most RootScore Awards across the entire UK, within the nations, and in major cities. EE also continued to provide users with an excellent combination of widespread 5G availability plus fast 5G speeds.”
In terms of other providers, Vodafone saw their first-place ties in the reliability and text performances categories for the Q1 2021 RootMetrics study drop to second place.
However, the provider was still praised for “excellent” scores in these categories still. Overall, Vodafone ranked second in six out of the seven areas analysed, and were joint first with EE in the other one.
Third-placed O2 had consistent UK wide performances when comparing it with the Q1 2021 RootMetrics study, while Three saw gains in the level of its text performance.
Speaking about the study’s findings as a whole, RootMetrics said: “Data usage in the UK continues to explode and is showing no signs of slowing down. From gaming on the go to streaming movies and everything in between, the importance of fast and reliable mobile connectivity has never been greater.
“The good news is that 5G in the UK is expanding and providing users with impressive speeds, and all four major operators are delivering strong performances in general.”
If the findings are making you think of switch to EE, the good news is the provider is running some great money saving deals right now, including a 160GB 5G SIM for £20 a month.
EE is also throwing in a free Fitbit Sense worth £279.99 with the Google Pixel 6 flagship Android phone, and also has deals running on the Samsung Galaxy S21 line-up and Apple’s iPhones.
You can check out all the deals EE is running right now by clicking here.
